Learning to Drive... Him Crazy (25 page)

"Okay, maybe I have lost my temper a little
bit. But look what I've been going through."

He reached over and pulled her against him.
"Honey, I know you've been going through a lot lately. But that
doesn't mean it's okay to use that language or behave badly. I
think you'll find you feel better after this, honey."

"What about during," she asked with a
pout.

"Nope. During, you won't like it a bit. But
I'll be reminding you of what you did to earn this, so maybe that
will keep your mind off whether you like it or not. Let's get
started."

He sat down and guided her over his lap. She
started squirming immediately. "No, Cal, you can't."

"Why not?"

"Because I don't want you to. It'll
hurt!"

"Yes, it will," he confirmed. "And the more
you fight me, the more it'll hurt. Now settle down." He reached
underneath her to unzip her jeans and she reached back and tried to
push his hand away. He caught her hand and held it with his left
hand, against her side. He reached underneath her again, and she
started squirming, determined to get off his lap.

He gave her four quick but firm swats that
did exactly what he'd hoped. It startled her and she froze, which
gave him enough time to get her jeans unfastened and down to her
knees. While he was doing that he said, "Settle down, Kelli. You've
earned this spanking so many times over now that I expect you to
settle down. If I have to tell you again, I'll be adding on
extras."

"You'll be what?"

"I'll be adding on extras. You earn extras
during a spanking by fighting it too much, or by cussing or biting
or some other such behavior. Once you've earned a spanking, I
expect you to behave. That doesn't mean you can't yell or cry or
even scream. But unacceptable behavior will result in extras, and
you need to understand that anytime you earn extras they will be
given with something more than my hand."

Kelli turned around and looked over her
shoulder at him. He looked totally serious. "Like what?"

"Like a paddle, or a ruler, or my belt."

Her eyes were wide. "No!"

"Then I suggest you settle down and accept
this."

"But Cal, I can't just lay still and not
complain. I know I can't."

"And I don't expect you to. Like I said, you
can yell or scream, and you can squirm. But fighting too much,
where I can't hold you on my lap, or cussing or biting or pinching,
or not allowing me to get your jeans down," he paused to let that
sink in, "will not be tolerated. Do you understand me, Kelli?"

"Yes."

"Okay, good. Now, let's get started." He
started the spanking, giving her ten or twelve smacks before
saying, "Kelli, I know this has been difficult for you. It's been
difficult for all of us, but let's talk about some of your behavior
here the last few days." He continued the spanking as he named off
several times she'd had a temper tantrum, twice that she'd thrown
something, once when she was rude to Brad Barstow, three occasions
when she'd used language she knew she wasn't to use, and once when
John stopped her from going outside.

He gave her a few swats each time he named a
certain offense, before going on to the next one. Kelli yelled and
hollered, and even screamed a couple times when Cal gave her three
or four particularly hard swats in the same place after naming an
act he was particularly upset with. She also squirmed and wriggled,
but he could tell by her demeanor that she'd heard his warning. She
settled down and was much more accepting of his discipline now. He
was glad, because he certainly didn't want to have to give her any
extras tonight.

"Okay, Kelli, there's one more thing I want
to say. I know this is a difficult situation. But it is for all of
us. Instead of rebelling, of acting out, let me help you. If you're
having a hard time, tell me. Let me hold you while we talk about
it, or do something to get your mind off the situation. But you
need to talk to me, so I can help you. Now, I'm going to give you
ten more good swats and we'll be done. While I'm giving you those,
I want you to remember that I'm here for you, watching out for you,
and I always will be. But you have to tell me when you have a
problem. Do you hear what I'm saying, Kelli?"

She was crying, and those last words had her
crying harder. She struggled to answer, "Yes. I'm sorry, Cal."

"Think about that while I give you these
last ten, honey." He proceeded to give her ten solid swats on her
sit spots. She jerked and yelled after each one, but took them all
without earning extras. After the last one, Cal helped her up so
she was sitting on his lap. He pulled her tight against his chest,
with his arms around her. "Okay, Sweetie, it's over now. You're
forgiven. Lay your head on my shoulder and cry it out while I hold
you."

Kelli did just that, and Cal held her. Once
she was able to talk again he got her to talk to him about her
feelings, being stuck in the house, and her fears. Afterward he
asked, "Feel better, Sweetie?"

"Yes, I do. Thank you, Cal. I feel much
better, except for my butt. That really hurts."

"That's only temporary," he whispered in her
ear. "My caring about you isn't."

She snuggled in as close as she could get.
They talked a little longer before he escorted her to her room.
"Will that sore bottom help you remember I'm here for you,
Sweetie?"

"Oh, yeah. I will definitely remember you're
here, for a little while at least."

"Good," he said, and leaned down to give her
a goodnight kiss. And then he gave her another goodnight kiss. When
he finally pulled away from the second kiss he said, "You need to
go in your room now, Sweetie, while I'll still let you."

"Are you sure?" she asked with a mischievous
grin.

"Get in there," he said with a playful slap
on her bottom, which still got a yelp out of her.

John had trouble
sleeping that night. He was anxious to see if anyone would show up
at Joe's house. He had a gut feeling about this. He knew Brad
Barstow knew all the FBI agents better than he did, but something
just didn't add up. Finally, after tossing and turning for hours,
he gave up and went to the kitchen to make some coffee and think.
Something was bothering him and he didn't know if it was just his
gut feeling about this or if he was missing something. Maybe an
early morning cup of coffee and thinking in a quiet house would
help.

He was surprised to see Brad sitting in the
kitchen, coffee in hand. "Brad, what are you doing here?"

"I was off duty at midnight, but I knew I
wouldn't be able to sleep yet. I have a feeling someone's going to
show up at Decker's house either tonight or early tomorrow, and I
wanted to be here to talk to you about it when I got word of it, so
I stayed. I tried sleeping in the extra room, but I couldn't. What
are you doing out here this early?"

"Apparently we have the same feeling. I
couldn't sleep, either. I thought maybe I'm missing something, and
an early cup of coffee might help me see it."

As they were talking, Brad's phone rang. He
motioned for John to follow and he headed to the office as he
answered his phone. John followed him to the office and closed the
door. "Lieutenant, John's here with me. I'm going to put you on
speaker."

Lieutenant Berry said, "Good morning, John.
Up rather early, aren't you?"

"Couldn't sleep. I've had a gut feeling
something was going to happen. Has it?"

"Yes, it has," the lieutenant answered.
"John, your idea worked. One of our agents showed up. Do you want
to guess who it was?"

John paused just a second before guessing,
"Agent Larry Kline?"

Brad looked at him curiously, with a look of
doubt on his face. But the lieutenant answered, "How did you have
that figured out, John? What did we miss?"

Brad asked, "Seriously? Larry showed
up?"

"I was shocked, too, Brad. John, what did
you pick up on?"

"Nothing big," he answered honestly. "But
one night at the other house Kelli had a nightmare and she
screamed. Agent Ryan instantly went to check doors and windows
while Kline went to the girls' bedroom. Cal and I went there, as
well. Kline asked what happened and waited for an answer, but he
never went to the window or moved the girls. They were not far from
the window at the time. I pulled both of them over to the side
while we talked, and was a little surprised that he hadn't. I just
assumed FBI protocol is different than our police department's. My
first thought was the window, and getting them away from it."

Brad looked shocked. "No, same protocol,
John. Larry just didn't follow it." He thought a couple seconds and
asked, "Is that why you suggested we include the three of them in
this sting?"

"Yes. I assumed it was just a difference in
protocol, but I realized that although you know these agents better
than I do and have confidence in them, I don't know these guys
nearly well enough to have that same level of confidence. I figured
if we include them in it and no one bites, I'll feel better about
having them here."

"I like the way you think, John. I'm glad
you suggested it," the lieutenant said.

"So has he said anything, admitted being
part of the group?" John asked hopefully.

"Unfortunately, no," Lieutenant Berry
answered. "He insists he was just curious and wanted to see his
house before the team gets in there and tears it apart."

"What's your take on his story?" John
asked.

"Not buying a word of it. Especially now,
after hearing about his failure to follow protocol," the lieutenant
answered.

"You know, that night it was just almost
like he wasn't worried."

Brad offered, "He probably wasn't. What
happens now?"

John quickly said, "I think while you have
Kline in custody, you need to get a search warrant for his
place."

The lieutenant said, "That's a good idea,
John, but we didn't find anything at Decker's house. I suppose we
could have missed something."

"Or maybe Joe already got rid of it.
Remember, he escaped the scene."

"We had agents at his house as soon as we
realized he was missing, but you're right. He could have gone there
first, before we knew he was missing, and gotten whatever evidence
he didn't want us to find," the lieutenant said, thinking out
loud.

"That was my thought," John said.

"I'll get on the search warrant right away,"
the lieutenant said. "Any other ideas?"

"That's all I've got," John said.

"Not really," Brad said. "He's denying any
involvement at all?"

"He's denying everything."

Brad asked, "Are they going to keep
questioning him, try and trip him up?"

"We are, but we don't have much to go on,"
the lieutenant said.

"Do you suppose we'd get any response from
him if we told him what all we've learned so far, but throw in
something not true? If we get a reaction from him it would at least
tell us we're on the right track, that he is indeed part of
it."

"It would be good to have that reassurance.
Just list off things, throw in something wrong, and then ask him
something. The right reaction would tell us a lot. Good idea, Brad.
I'll pass that along to the interrogators."

* * * * *

Brad kept John informed all morning. With
further questioning they felt sure Larry Kline was involved, but
they didn't have anything solid. They had, however, gotten a search
warrant and agents were on their way over.

After lunch Lieutenant Berry showed up at
the house. "Brad and John, can we talk in the office, please?" When
they were in the office with the door closed he opened his
briefcase. "I want to show you what we found at Kline's place."

He took out a group of papers and laid them
on the desk. "Look them over and let me know what you think." Brad
and John each picked up a few of the papers and started looking
through them. They switched papers and kept reading.

Brad looked up at Lieutenant Berry and said,
"This is crazy."

Lieutenant Berry nodded. "That was my first
thought."

Brad said, "So, correct me if I'm wrong
here, on any of this. According to this page, it lists all the
people involved in this theft ring, and tells what part each person
plays."

Lieutenant Berry said, "I was shocked to see
that. You would think policemen, of all people, would never put any
of this in writing. This is evidence, proof of their guilt."

John agreed. "I thought that, too. But then
when I read it all, they've obviously gotten away with quite a bit
over the years. That one sheet shows all the thefts they've pulled
off, and how Chief Nelson's brother-in-law, the gemologist, was
able to make them into new jewelry so it couldn't be traced. The
fact that it was sold through a jewelry company set up solely for
this shows just how much they've gotten away with. I think that
started giving them a false sense of security, making them think
they could get away with anything. If you feel and think that way
you wouldn't worry so much about putting it on paper, since you
wouldn't expect to ever get caught anyway."

"John, I think that is exactly what's
happened here," Lieutenant Berry said. "They have plans, according
to these, that I don't believe ever would have worked, but I think
you're right, they've gotten away with so much, they thought this
would work, too."

Brad said, "Okay, so according to these
notes, Larry Kline and Officer Decker were the ring leaders."

John added, "They basically have their plan
written down here. They told everyone that the plan, if anyone was
ever arrested, was to deny everything and say nothing because they
wouldn't have any evidence to prove anything. The two of them, on
the other hand, planned on telling everything, who all was
involved, and answer anything they asked in order to get lighter
sentences. What they weren't planning on admitting is that they
were the ones in charge. They had purposely made it look like
Detective Moss was, having him sign the papers with the judge,
making sure he was the one who testified, and other such
things."